Historical Timeline
University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis’ rich history is a story of perseverance and triumph.
Throughout our more than 156-year history, we have embraced change as an opportunity to grow, evolve and remain relevant in the changing landscape of health care education. Building on the work of our founders, the University continues to make history as a leader in health education and research.
1764
The City of St. Louis is founded by Chouteau and Laclede.
1809
The first pharmacy in St. Louis opens.
1823
St. Louis becomes a city and elects William Carr Lane, a physician, as mayor.
1852
The American Pharmaceutical Association (now American Pharmacists Association) is founded in Philadelphia.
1854
The St. Louis Pharmaceutical Association is established on May 25.
1860
A committee of apothecaries and physicians is appointed by the St. Louis Pharmaceutical Association to consider establishing a college of pharmacy in St. Louis.
1861
The Civil War begins in Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12.
1864
ST. LOUIS COLLEGE OF PHARMACY IS ESTABLISHED ON NOV. 11.
1865
The first College botany course is taught at Shaw’s Garden (now the Missouri Botanical Garden).
The Civil War ends in April.
In October, the first three College faculty members — Arthur Wagemier, Jeremiah Smith Bois Alleyne, and James O’Gallagher — begin teaching chemistry, material medica and pharmacy in a room of the St. Louis Medical College.
1866
St. Louis College of Pharmacy becomes the first chartered college of pharmacy west of the Mississippi River.
1867
The College outgrows its first location and begins renting lecture rooms at the Tilford Building, located on 4th Street (across from the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis).
1868
The first class of 17 men graduate from the College.
1869
Instruction at the College is suspended due to low enrollment.
1871
The College resumes instruction.
The College moves to its third location: the Pullis Building at 208 N. 6th St.
1873
The College moves to its fourth location at the southeast corner of Broadway and Olive.
1875
The St. Louis College of Pharmacy Alumni Association is founded.
1879
The College’s first pharmaceutical lab is built.
The Missouri Pharmaceutical Association is established.
1881
The Missouri Board of Pharmacy is established.
Esther Wightman is the first woman to attend the College.
1884
The College moves to its fifth location: 412 S. 6th St.
1892
The College moves to its sixth location: its own building at 2108-2010 Lucas St. Receipts for the year were $39,936.80. Disbursements were $36,942.15.
Augusta Bock is the first woman graduate of the College.
1904
The World's Fair is held in St. Louis.
Henry Whelpley becomes dean of the College.
The College begins full-time instruction during the day.
1906
The College establishes merit scholarships for students that are sponsored by Mallinckrodt, Meyer Brothers and J.S. Merrell.
The College helps establish a St. Louis chapter of the American Pharmaceutical Association.
The Federal Pure Food and Drug Act requires drug manufacturers to list product ingredients on labels.
1908
The College offers an optional four-year course of study leading to a pharmaceutical chemist degree (Ph.C.).
The College offers a commercial pharmacy course, the first of its kind.
1917
The United States enters World War I.
1926
The Board of Trustees purchases property on the southeast corner of Euclid and Parkview Place for $24,000 in, what was then, an emerging medical center in St. Louis.
1927
The College moves to its seventh and current location at Parkview Place and Euclid Avenue. A complete model pharmacy is built on the first floor, so students can learn how to operate a drug store as part of the commercial pharmacy course.
The St. Louis College of Pharmacy Medicinal Plant Garden is established at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
1929
The College’s first fraternity, Chi Iota Phi, is formed. Student organizations — the Microns and the Garden Club — are formed.
1930
Prescripto, the student yearbook, is launched.
1931
Students acquire artifacts and build exhibits for a new pharmacy museum, located on the fourth floor and, later, in the library.
1932
A four-year Bachelor of Science replaces the three-year Ph.G.
Bacteriology, English, German, mathematics and physics are added to the curriculum.
The American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) is founded.
1937
Missouri licensure law requires pharmacists to be graduates of a school or college of pharmacy.
1938
The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is enacted.
1940
St. Louis College of Pharmacy is accredited for the first time by ACPE.
1941
The United States enters World War II.
1944
The College initiates an accelerated program. The traditional four-year program could be completed in two years and eight months with students attending three 16-week semesters per year.
1945
The College is renamed St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences.
1946
The College launches a new course in animal health pharmacy, the first of its kind in the nation.
1947
The student body secures 100% membership in the student chapter of the American Pharmaceutical Association at the College, one of the first and few schools to ever do so.
1951
Lambda Kappa Sigma, the College’s first pharmaceutical sorority, is established.
The O.J. Cloughly Alumni Library is dedicated.
1952
A Master of Science in Industrial Pharmacy is launched.
1955
A Master of Science in Hospital Pharmacy is launched.
1956
Richard Crumble, Thomas L. Jones and Thomas J. Williams III are the first African-American graduates.
1960
The Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy increases to five years. Only 7% of students are female.
Intercollegiate athletics launch with bowling as the first sport. Coach Wiedenbacher is the part-time athletic director.
1961
Charles Rabe Jr. becomes the College’s first full-time president.
1962
The College’s name is changed back to St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and a new seal is launched.
1963
The Dispensers, the College’s first intercollegiate basketball team, go 7-7 in their inaugural season.
1964
The College celebrates its centennial.
The first residence hall opens on what is now the Quad.
1965
A continuing education program is developed.
1970
Arthur Zimmer receives the first Outstanding Educator Award (later renamed the Joe E. Haberle Outstanding Educator Award) from the Alumni Association.
1978
A new program of externships in community pharmacies and clerkships at clinical practice sites, mandated by ACPE, is initiated.
1980
Intercollegiate sports are no longer offered.
1981
The College opens Rabe Hall on Forest Park Avenue, formerly the Town and Country apartment complex, which had been renovated as student housing for upperclassmen.
1983
Sumner Robinson becomes the second president of St. Louis College of Pharmacy.
1985
An evening Master of Science in Pharmacy Administration is offered.
1986
The College begins a $7 million campus renovation — a student center, outdoor quad, two-story addition to the library, and renovations to the main academic building.
The College offers an optional six-year Doctor of Pharmacy.
1988
The College collaborates with Barnes Hospital School of Nursing in its three-year nursing program. The College faculty teach science and liberal arts courses for nursing students on the College campus.
1991
The first issue of Script magazine is published.
1993
Intercollegiate sports start up again with both men’s basketball and women’s volleyball.
1994
Thomas F. Patton becomes the third president of the College.
The new athletic team name and mascot, the Eutectic, is chosen by students, faculty and staff to replace Rex, the purple dinosaur.
1995
A new 29,000-square-foot academic building, later named Whelpley Hall, is completed with classrooms, offices, and a 300-seat auditorium. A parking garage is also added.
1996
The first White Coat Ceremony is held.
2000
A Doctor of Pharmacy becomes the entry-level degree to practice pharmacy.
2001
The first STLCOP C.A.R.E.S. community day of service is created by members of the Student Pharmacists Association.
2003
Campus is renovated with a new eight-story residence hall, café and improvements to the main academic building, now named Jones Hall.
2009
The College completes a land swap with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, trading Rabe Hall for 1.2 acres of land adjacent to the College's campus.
2010
The College’s endowment reaches $94 million.
The College receives the largest gift in its history: $5.9 million from the Whelpley trust.
John A. Pieper becomes the fourth president of the College.
2011
The Board of Trustees approves STLCOP 20/20, a new strategic plan, in June.
St. Louis College of Pharmacy, the city of St. Louis and the Drug Enforcement Administration create the St. Louis Medication Disposal Initiative.
2012
The College is named a "Great College to Work For" by The Chronicle of Higher Education. It is named again in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
2013
The College opens an Alumni House on Laclede Avenue, two blocks from campus.
Professor John Beale discovers four drug compounds to treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, acquiring the first patents in the College’s history.
2014
The College introduces a seven-year Doctor of Pharmacy with an integrated bachelor’s in health humanities or health sciences.
The College and the University of Missouri-St. Louis form a collaborative program for students to obtain a Master of Business Administration or graduate certificate in Business Administration.
The last basketball game is held in The Pillbox in the Cartwright Student Center. It is demolished in March.
The College offers men's and women's basketball, cross country, track and field, tennis and soccer, as well as women's volleyball and softball. The College leaves the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after 20 years to join the American Midwest Conference.
Groundbreaking for a new 213,000- square-foot Academic and Research Building and library takes place in April.
The College celebrates its sesquicentennial with a Black-Tie Gala and Convocation at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.
2015
The Academic and Research Building and Library opens for classes in August. The Jones Hall renovations are completed and all academic departments relocated.
The Center for Clinical Pharmacology is established as a partnership between the College and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Department of Anesthesiology.
Founders Day is observed on November 11 by the groundbreaking for the new Recreation and Student Center.
2016
With more than 80 percent of the strategic objectives outlined in STLCOP 20/20 complete, the strategic plan is reevaluated and refreshed with input from the College community.
2017
The Center for Health Outcomes Research and Education is established. Scott Micek, associate professor of pharmacy, is named director.
The Recreation and Student Center opens in August, marking the end of a two-phase construction project that added more than 400,000 square feet of space to campus.
2019
The College launches several new bachelor’s programs:
- Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences
- Bachelor of Arts in Global Health
- Bachelor of Arts in Medical Humanities
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Chemistry
- Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences
2020
A Master of Global Health and Equity and a Master of Science in Medicinal Chemistry are launched.
The College changes its name to University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis.
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In The News
Four outstanding University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis alumni were recently honored as Distinguished Alumni Award winners.
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